Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Hold on! We must hold on! We absolutely cannot let a single bandit enter Juezhou City!"

On the city wall of Juezhou, Hu Ruzhen, the front-line commander of the Great Wu and the governor of the southern border, personally donned his armor and took to the battlefield, loudly directing the defending troops to launch a counterattack against the densely packed bandits below the city.

Buckets of scalding hot liquid poured down, drenching the bandits climbing the ladders. The heat caused their skin to split open, and they fell to the ground with cries of agony.

Stones, logs, and bayonets were constantly thrown from the crenellations, causing the bandits below to cry out in despair.

Beneath the crumbling city walls, a pile of mangled corpses was visibly stacked.

The bandit army, composed of refugees, under the command of Hu Ruzhen, had to temporarily retreat after seven unsuccessful sieges of the city.

"Ugh."

Watching the bandit army retreat like a receding tide, Hu Ruzhen showed no joy at having defended Juezhou; instead, a shadow of gloom settled between his brows.

"The nation is in such dire straits, first there are natural disasters, then bandits. What should we do?"

Just as he was worrying about the future of the Wu Kingdom, a document from the Ministry of War was delivered to him.

After opening and reading the contents, Hu Ruzhen's face immediately turned ashen.

"What's wrong, Commander Hu?"

"I asked Cao Jie, the deputy general beside me."

"The Ministry of War has ordered me to immediately lead troops in a decisive battle against the bandits and reclaim the seven southern prefectures occupied by them as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Jie was shocked: "The new recruits have only been trained for a little over a month, and they think they can recapture the seven southern provinces with just a few thousand men? What is the Ministry of War thinking?"

Hu Ruzhen sighed: "The country is in dire straits. The current sage is convinced of the way of immortality and cultivation, which has led to the neglect of government affairs and the suffering of the people. He does not understand how complicated the situation in the south is. Alas."

Cao Jie slapped the back of his hand: "The imperial court has absolutely no idea about Governor Hu's current predicament. The imperial court is in trouble, but isn't it difficult here too?"

Hu Ruzhen closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Has the military pay that the court promised me last month been delivered?"

Cao Jie looked around and then whispered, "To be honest, Commander Hu, the military pay allocated by the Ministry of Revenue actually arrived a long time ago and is currently at Jia Rong's residence. They're deliberately withholding it!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruzhen flew into a rage: "Why are you only telling me about something this big now?"

Cao Jie: "Governor Hu, please calm down. These past few days, bandits have been attacking Juezhou. We were afraid it would affect you, so we kept it a secret."

Hu Ruzhen tightened her cloak: "Take me to Jia Rong's residence immediately."

But Cao Jie stopped him.

"What do you mean?"

"Commander Hu, please don't misunderstand. What I mean is, shouldn't we bring a gift when we go to see Lord Jia?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruzhen's pupils dilated immediately: "The nation is in such dire straits, and Jia Rong was originally in charge of transporting supplies to the front lines..."

"It is perfectly reasonable for this governor-general to ask him for military pay; how dare he ask for bribes?"

Cao Jie: "Governor Hu, please calm your anger. These are turbulent times, and this is only a temporary measure. I have prepared a small gift for you."

"You should take the gifts and say a few kind words to Lord Jia, at least get him to pay the soldiers' wages. Otherwise, if morale collapses, who will resist the bandits?"

Hu Ruzhen thought for a moment and finally nodded.

Faced with the harsh reality, he had no choice but to compromise.

……

The capital of the Song state was Bianzhou.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Zhao Ji put down his imperial brush and stared intently at the painting of a beautiful woman with lotus blossoms that he had drawn himself, his eyes filled with infatuation.

The beauty in the painting is none other than Empress Jiang Mengxuan of the Great Chu Kingdom.

However, Jiang Mengxuan in the painting does not have the aura that an emperor should have. Instead, she is dressed in a cool and revealing outfit, her beautiful legs and fair skin stepping on a lotus flower, her face showing a charming expression, a posture that is captivating and alluring.

Of course, this is how Zhao Ji imagined Jiang Mengxuan. Ever since he saw Jiang Mengxuan once three years ago, he has never been able to forget her.

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhou is requesting an audience outside the gate."

A eunuch's call brought Zhao Ji back to reality from his reverie.

Without making a sound, he covered the painting with a piece of silk, then raised his hand and said, "Show it."

Before long, Zhou Xianwu entered the imperial study and immediately bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Xianwu, you've come at the perfect time."

Emperor Huizong warmly pulled Zhou Xianwu to a seat.

“A few days ago, a batch of rare stones from Southeast Asia arrived in the capital. I would like to take you with me to see them. I know you are a talented writer, so why don’t you write a few poems for my Stone Consort?”

Zhou Xianwu frowned slightly, suppressing his displeasure, and raised his hand, saying, "Your Majesty, I have important matters to report today."

Seeing that Zhou Xianwu did not respond to his words and was so clueless about romance, Zhao Ji's mood immediately plummeted.

"What important matter does Xianwu have to report?"

Zhou Xianwu, oblivious to the displeasure in Zhao Ji's words, directly stated his purpose: "Your Majesty, the Wu Kingdom is in great turmoil, and the court and the people are in chaos."

Your Majesty, I urge you to send troops immediately and seize this opportune moment to annex the Kingdom of Wu!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji frowned: "Although Wu and Song have been at odds for generations, they are still nominally friendly states. Now that our friendly state is in trouble, how can we kick it when it's down?"

Zhou Xianwu: "Your Majesty, the fate of the Wu Kingdom has run its course. The country has suffered a great calamity, millions of people have been displaced, and wherever they go, there are corpses of the starving and bandits everywhere."

It is said that the State of Chu sent 300 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain to the State of Wu for disaster relief, but not a single grain of this grain reached the disaster victims.

Instead, due to collusion between superiors and subordinates, it was all swallowed up completely!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji laughed and said, "It is truly a blessing from heaven that the rulers and ministers of Wu are so incompetent. Our great Song Dynasty has no worries about the southern border."

Zhou Xianwu: "Your Majesty, precisely because the Wu Kingdom has suffered such a great calamity this time, our Great Song should seize the opportunity to annex the Wu Kingdom."

The Jin Kingdom to the north is eyeing us covetously, with 300,000 cavalry ready to march south at any moment. If we occupy Wu territory, we'll have many more escape routes.

Zhao Ji: "Xianwu, you are overthinking it. Last month, didn't I have Prime Minister Tong reach an agreement with the Jin people?"

They assured us they would not be enemies of our Great Song Dynasty and promised to return the six border garrisons within five years. Would they really go back on their word?

"Your Majesty, the Jurchens are barbaric by nature and have never been taught etiquette and the way of the king. How can they possibly keep their promises?"

"Okay, don't say any more."

Emperor Huizong interrupted him impatiently.

"How can the affairs of our dynasty be treated like child's play? Even if the Jurchens break their promises, haven't they still reached an agreement with the Yan state?"

As long as the Jin state invades, the Yan state will certainly not stand idly by, and our Great Song will have no worries about external threats!

Zhou Xianwu wanted to persuade him further, but seeing Zhao Ji's attitude, he could only sigh and give up in the end.

"Xianwu, how about we go for a stroll in the Imperial Garden, okay?"

"Wei Chen takes orders."

……

Jinling, Shuixuan Residence.

"Ah Lang, the fertilizer you produce is truly amazing! This year, the harvest from the 3,000 mu of land we tested was 30% higher than in previous years."

"Excellent! This way, the people of our Great Chu will never go hungry again!"

Jiang Mengxuan excitedly rubbed Shen Lang's neck, showing that the Empress was truly delighted.

"It's all thanks to you, Xuan'er. I was just the one who came up with the idea."

"No, A Lang, this is all your credit. You can't let your name be forgotten. It is you who have made the people of Great Chu no longer have to worry about food."

Jiang Mengxuan released Shen Lang's neck, her bright eyes fixed on the man, a sight she could never tire of.

"I will erect a monument for you, so that the world will remember your contributions!"